The Makiav3llian Enchantment…

As OFWs, we usually get coined with the terms “bagong bayani”, milking cow and remittances. As I have been reading recently there is an email circulating about not sending remittances on November 1 & 2. Its purpose is to actually show the government that the OFWs are protesting against the strengthening of the peso that from 55PhP per USD which is down to 43PhP per USD.
I’ve written a blog entry before stating out the obvious losses we incur. Unfortunately, currencies have lost value yet the prices of commodities remain the same. The thing is that the USD amount is not the only factor determining prices, there is a thing called "black gold" which is more prevalent in the market and where sensitive changes in its prices affect basic commodities. Besides, oil indirectly affects how manufactured goods are made and delivered.
So what is this ranting all about? It is about protecting your hard earned dough when sending it back home.
Let me give you one tip as well as expose one of the weaknesses of sending remittances through your regular door to door or Peso bank transfer. We send out money through Thomas Cook, Al Fardan or Al Ghurair Exchange, they charge accordingly around 15AED to 20AED per transfer. Now, these establishments have established deals with banks in the Philippines such as PNB, so on and so forth, these amounts are higher than the normal bank rate of exchange (ROE). The amount you see being shown in the news is actually "black market" rates. When you go to the bank, you will see that it is significantly different. In the news the rate is 44.02PhP per USD while bank rates are at 43.60PhP per USD. The local money exchange will have the amount of 43.80PhP per USD. This is where you start to see the difference and although you will say the amounts are insignificant, let me enlighten you. Bank rate difference from the black market rate is .42c while local money exchange difference is .22c. Now the bank’s deal with the money exchange company assuming that the amount is 43.70PhP per USD for our OFW. So there is still a .10c difference. Of course aside from this and the money you send is subjected to some form of tax. Of course if it is a door to door thing, you will also have to pay the person delivering the money.
Now, here is my method. I use a Dollar account from PNB. The money I send is actually in USD so i don’t actually lose out on the bank’s ROE. The money is converted to USD in Dubai and sent to my Dollar account back home. The person there just needs to withdraw the money and go to the local money exchange. So if it is the conventional method versus my method, your 100USD will be 4370PhP while my 100USD is 4380. Of course that is not a big difference, but you have to take note that this is just an assumption of the bank’s deal with the money exchange, it could be less. Besides, what if you send 2000USD, you lose out on 200PhP extra, which to some is still a big deal. The only hassle to my method is that you have to take the money out and get it exchanged, however, the advantage is that you don’t get screwed by the bank.
To sum it all up, if you send money home, everything goes through the bank. It depends if you want the bank to take advantage of you.

Aruarian Dance… No, this not the latest dance craze to hit Philippine soil, it doesn’t actually involve any dance step at all. Remember the thing I like about the type of music I listen to that doesn’t really have a lot of words but packs a punch with its beat, this is one of them.
The title of this piece is Aruarian Dance composed and mixed by Nujabes. I picked it out from the anime series called Samurai Champloo. If you listen to it, it really is a catchy piece with the guitars, violins and rhythm and beat mixers, it is absolutely brilliant.
The beauty of this piece is when you actually close your eyes. Aruarian Dance is not just guitar strumming (it was as if it were like some lonesome Spanish soap opera) with hip hop beats, it is actually a sad song with a happy theme, or the other way around. Click the links and listen to it. The thing is that when I listen to it; actually begin seeing positives from a negative occurrence. Although most of the things I have noted down may not affect you in anyway, I just wanted to show you guys what I actually felt “dancing” …

1. It’s like a haunting tune telling you to be happy even if your heart got broken because you learned to love.
2. Being happy even someone close to you has passed away because that person lived his life and had a chance to live it with you.
3. Losing in a competition but happy because you tried your best.
4. Despite what you see in the mirror is not the best looking one in the world because of your own insecurities, you feel good because you know the person has a pure heart.

My message is just simple, if you feel down and low, listen to this song, you may find out something positive out of your misery. I know I have!

I’ve been sleeping at around 3AM lately having a dose of comedy from MBC4, however, the thing that completes my morning drift is watching Nanny 911 or Super Nanny. You think its lame or reality TV turned bad but if you get into it, it really isn’t that bad. I mean for a Dad like me with Issa and Angie, it actually helps me. As for you singletons, it also helps you understand the dilemma of child rearing and that things are not always a happy ending once you meet the guy/gal of your dreams, settle down and have kids. Hell no! Aside from this, this is really a topic you can talk with if the person you are talking to is a parent or has a naughty younger sibling.
After seeing this a couple of times, I think the only thing to control a child is two things. The first one is attention and the other is challenging their authority when they try to take control. The thing is that, these things are not easy to come by. Results don’t happen over night, it takes a lost of patience and you actually see the parents wrestling with an "anaconda." I’ve been a child before and I have had my fair share. iIve been shouted at, belted, paddled and knocked senseless into the straight guy I am. The authoritarian rule was actually good for me since it instilled fear. Of course many parents oppose that these days but again, I do not see improvement in our youths these days. It’s always the parents preference and the results will always vary. A child is always a reflection of the parents. So here is my advise: A child is a child, never go down their level, try to bring them up your. Respect is a key ingredient, earn it from them and let them earn yours and of course add a little ingredient of love and there you have it, a recipe for discipline. This whole episodes makes me miss my little angel…

Who can forget the adorable Agent X44 that Bong Navarro played in the movies? I personally haven’t seen it but I bet it’s (as a remake of the original) a barrel of laughs as described by my peers.

I actually don’t have a really nice title for this particular blog entry, in fact the only relation it has is the letter X. Again, most of the time I have a lot of things to say about dubai, regardless good or bad but today, I would again commend RTA for coming up with the X25 service. It’s basically a bus service from Ghusais to Dubai Marina. In other words, it passes by Dubai Internet City. It follows a simple route; Ghusais - Salahudeen/Muraqqabat - Fish R/A - Naif - Fish Market - Al Ghubaibah B/S - Jumeirah - DIC - Dubai Marina. The beauty of this is not the eXpress theme for me but the fact I can get to the office with one ride. I pay a total of 4.50AED to get to the office while taking the X25 costs only 3.50AED. The other thing is the fact that I do not need to ride another bus, its just one bus for me now, I practically slash of 20 minutes from my trip. I got to give the RTA a hand for their sensitivity on this matter. The beach is now a bus ride away! Beat that!